Group Behavior

7 Key excerpts on "Group Behavior"

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  eBook - ePub

  Consumer Behaviour (RLE Consumer Behaviour)

  A Practical Guide

  • Gordon Foxall(Author)
  • 2014(Publication Date)
  • Routledge

    (Publisher)

  Although the concept of the group has a crucial place in consumer research, there remains considerable confusion about the meaning of the terms which denote group phenomena in the marketing literature. This seems an appropriate area in which to return to the basic disciplines of psychology and sociology to obtain more exact definitions and descriptions of the terms involved.

  In everyday conversation the word 'group' is capable of denoting any collection of human beings, from one the size of a football team to one as large as a football crowd or even a nation. It should come as no surprise to find that behavioural scientists insist on a more precise definition of the term 'group' and that, used in the context of behavioural science, the concept has a rather specific connotation. Sprott 1 writes that a group is 'a plurality of persons who interact with one another in a given context more than they interact with anyone else. The basic notion is relatively exclusive interaction in a certain context'. In essence, a human group involves several persons who share common goals or purposes and who interact in pursuance of these objectives; each member of the group is perceived by others as a group member and all members are bound together by patterns and networks of interaction over time. The interdependence of group members is made enduring by the evolution of a group ideology which cements the beliefs, values, and attributes and norms of the group.2

  Behavioural scientists also refer to primary groups and secondary groups. Primary groups are characterised by their size and by the close relationships that take place within them. As Homans 3 says,

  We mean by a group a number of persons who communicate with one another often over a span of time, and who are few enough so that each person is able to communicate with all the others, not at second-hand, through other people, but face-to-face. Sociologists call this the primary group. A chance meeting of casual acquaintances does not count

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  Individuals, Groups and Organizations Beneath the Surface

  An Introduction

  • Lionel F. Stapley(Author)
  • 2018(Publication Date)
  • Routledge

    (Publisher)

  Section ThreeGroups

  In this section the focus is on groups. As in the preceding two sections the intention is to go beyond taking things at their face value by going deeper and exploring the underlying, less evident phenomena concerning groups that occur beneath the surface. The more frequently used approach is to study the behaviour of the individuals in a group. This is one way of creating an understanding of group behaviour. However, the approach taken here is to study groups from the perspective of the group-as-a-whole. In doing so, we can identify and understand other important behaviour that will provide a totally different perspective. Thus, while individual actions and relationships in groups is a valid field of study, there is this other level, the group-as-a-whole, which becomes the unit of study from the group level perspective.

  We may speak, for convenience, about the individual and the group, but in practice these two can never be separated and should not be considered even theoretically in isolation. Physical assembly of people into a group simply makes 'political' characteristics of human beings more easily demonstrable. In reality, none of us, however isolated in time and space, can be regarded as outside a group or lacking in active manifestations of group psychology. We carry our groupishness with us all the time and it is clear that everything is embedded in the social context of our lives, particularly in the dominant primary group, the family. As will be shown, the behaviour observed in groups is not to be considered a product of groups as such but of the fact that the 'human being is a group animal'.

  The group-as-a-whole is a level of analysis that represents processes that may be more or less than the sum of the individual members of the group and their interpersonal dynamics. The group-as-a-whole can be conceptualized as behaving in a different manner from, but related to, the dynamics of the members. From this vantage point groups-as-a-whole have their own dynamics resulting from the interactions of group members who are interdependent members and sub-systems. In effect, the group becomes a thing, it is reified 'as if a group mind exists, and it is experienced as being as real as an individual's brain in which thinking and feeling occur. Throughout this section I expose and explore the way that mainly unconscious dynamics beneath the surface of groups are as important as those concerning individuals.

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  Learning in Groups

  A Handbook for Face-to-Face and Online Environments

  • David Jaques, Gilly Salmon(Authors)
  • 2007(Publication Date)
  • Routledge

    (Publisher)

  CHAPTER 2

  STUDIES OF GROUP BEHAVIOUR

     

     

  Chapter two explores the essential characteristics of effective groups and a range of issues affecting group dynamics

  Over the past 50 years a wealth of information has been compiled by social psychologists working with experimental groups in laboratory settings. Some have focused on individual behaviour, some on the individual as a group member or on the group as a whole and others on intergroup behaviour. They offer us special insights into group behaviour that can help us with learning in groups too. Group members and participants often find research-based concepts and principles helpful in understanding what's going on and what options there may be in dealing effectively with them.

  However, a little word of warning for practitioners. Most of the work of social psychologist concentrates on the group performing practical tasks rather than developing learning or personal growth. The behaviours of long-established groups over a period of time in learning and teaching settings, compared to groups brought together for experimental purposes, may be rather different. Experiments rarely touch upon the complex phenomena of interaction which dominate many learning groups, including the expectations of future interactions, which develop over time over time or the awareness of roles and responsibilities outside the group meeting (Olivera and Strauss 2004; Galanes 2003, citing Stohl and Putnam 1990 and 1994). We now have online groups providing direct evidence over long periods of time without the physical presence of observers. Researchers gather evidence through transcripts of authentic processes with an ongoing group. Online group processes and be monitored through a structured developmental process or ‘scaffold’ (see page 277

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  Essentials of Social Psychology

  An Indian Perspective

  • Shubhra Mangal, Shashi Mangal(Authors)
  • 2022(Publication Date)
  • Routledge

    (Publisher)

  Baron and Byrne (2001:6): Social psychology is the scientific field that seeks to understand the nature and cause of individual behavior and thoughts in social situations. In other words, social psychologists seek to understand how we think about and interact with others.

  Gerrig and Zimbardo (2006: G-II): Social psychology is the branch of psychology that studies the effect of social variables on individual behavior, attitudes, perceptions and motives and also studies group and inter-group phenomena.

  Myers et al. (2012:1): Social psychology is the scientific study of how people think about, influence and relate to one another.

  Barrett (2017:5): Social psychology is the scientific study of the social experiences and behaviors of individuals.

  A close analysis of the above cited definitions may reveal the following facts about the meaning and nature of the term and disciple named as social psychology.

  • Social psychology is a discipline or subject area that uses scientific methods for studying the behavior of the individuals in social situations involving the presence of others.
  • Social psychology is a branch of psychology that deals specifically with the scientific study of the social behavior of the individuals rather than any other types of behavior such as abnormal behavior – the focus of abnormal psychology – or human behavior, in general, studied in general psychology.
  • It tells us that our thoughts, feelings and actions are influenced with the interactions and presence of others and vice versa. Proceeding further, it acquaints us with the way these are influenced in the presence of others in one or the other social situations. In other words, thus, social psychology may be found to look at human behavior as influenced by other people and the social context in which this occurs.
  • For influencing and affecting our feelings, thoughts and actions, the actual presence of others is not essential. It can happen also with their imagined and implied presence such as when watching television or following internalized cultural norms.

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  Introduction to Political Psychology

  • Martha L. Cottam, Elena Mastors, Thomas Preston(Authors)
  • 2022(Publication Date)
  • Routledge

    (Publisher)

  Nonetheless, a vast amount of information is available about Group Behavior, and most of it can be applied to the study of groups in political settings. In this chapter, we review a variety of information about groups. The first half of the chapter focuses on the structural characteristics of groups, such as composition, formation, and development. The second half of the chapter focuses on the unique behaviors that take place in groups or because of groups, including influence, performance, decision-making, and intergroup conflict. The Nature of Groups Definition of a Group Imagine all the different types of collectives that exist in political settings. People work together to solve problems, set political policies and agendas, serve constituents, make legal decisions, run political campaigns, and make decisions about world problems. Do all of these collectives constitute groups? Group researchers were unable to answer that question. There is little consensus in the field about what characteristics of a collective make a group. Although most social psychologists would agree that a group is a collection of people who are perceived as belonging together and dependent on one another, there are other ways to conceptualize groups. For example, Moreland (1987) discussed “groupiness” or social integration as a quality possessed by every collection of individuals to some degree. As the level of social integration increases, people start to think and act more like a group than a collection of individuals. Other social psychologists (Dasgupta, Banji, & Abelson, 1999 ; Lickel et al., 2000) have pointed to entiativity, which refers to the extent to which a collection of people is perceived as a coherent entity. Some groups, such as people in line at a bank, are perceived as being low in entiativity

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  Crime and Crime Reduction

  The importance of group processes

  • Jane L. Wood, Theresa A. Gannon(Authors)
  • 2013(Publication Date)
  • Routledge

    (Publisher)

  et al. , 1994). What is important is to examine when, why and how social identities come to influence individual action. The remainder of this chapter will focus on this question by examining theoretical approaches and empirical evidence.

  The social group as a comparative context

  One view of the group’s influence on the individual posits that the group provides a comparative context through which individuals come to understand themselves and make decisions about their behavior (Baumeister, 1999; Higgins, 1987; Steele, 1988; Tesser, 1988). This approach includes topics such as self-regulation, self-evaluation, self-affirmation and reputation enhancement (Caroll et al. , 2001). For example, self-discrepancy theory argues that people make comparisons between their current state and an external reference point, such as significant others (Higgins, 1987). According to this theory, people are motivated to reduce any discrepancy between their current state and the state to which they aspire. In this regard, the group can influence behavior through the individual’s motivation to reduce any discrepancy between their current state and that of a valued social group.

  Similarly self-evaluation maintenance theory endorses the view that people seek to maintain or increase a positive self-evaluation (Tesser, 1988). This process may involve a psychological contrast between the self and others. In order to maintain a positive self-evaluation people make comparisons on dimensions that are relevant to their self-evaluation and feel good when they are different from or more successful than others (Tesser, 1988). For dimensions that are less relevant to their self-evaluation, people are happy to bask in the reflected glory of the success of others. In other words, people avoid similarity with others on dimensions that are relevant for self-evaluation and seek personal distinctiveness on relevant attributes (Abrams & Hogg, 2004; Ciadini et al.

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  The Sciences Of Man In The Making

  AN ORIENTATION BOOK

  • Edwin A. Kirkpatrick(Author)
  • 2013(Publication Date)
  • Routledge

    (Publisher)

  HAPTER X

  BEHAVIOUR IN RELATION TO OTHERS, OR SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY

  THE NEED FOR A SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY

  THE concept of general psychology is of an organism reacting to the physical environment, and improving in doing so by practice. Individual psychology not only recognizes differences in human organisms but emphasizes the truth that, in reacting in his special way, each individual builds a self whose parts are so organized that what is done in response to a situation is not wholly determined by either the situation or the sense and motor apparatus responding, but by the personality of the actor. Social psychology shows that there is also a social determiner of conduct. It no longer assumes a general “ social mind ” of which each individual mind is a part, but emphasizes the truth that the individual is directed and moulded by companions and by the customs and institutions of the group of which he is a part. These influences are shown to have more to do with determining behaviour than bodily structure or physical environment. Realization of the importance of personal and cultural influences in human behaviour has led to the present deep interest in social psychology, which is concerned with these interrelations.

  THE EFFECTS OF THE BEHAVIOUR OF ONE UPON ANOTHER

  A hungry individual animal or man, when food is perceived, responds to the situation in a positive and active way. Another individual, also hungry, observes the response perhaps before he has observed the food, and is then influenced by the two stimuli to more vigorous action than the first one, who had the food stimulus only. As the second approaches and begins taking food, both become more active in getting it than would be the case if each was alone, especially if the amount is limited. If one interferes with the other’s attempt to get a portion the natural reaction is one of anger, which usually calls forth a similar response with further interference of each with the other, and increase in vigour of struggle. For a time, perhaps, the food is neglected while each tries to match the aggressive behaviour of the other by more effective responses of a similar kind.

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